60 seconds: that’s the time it takes for 80 to 120 tons of waste to end up at sea. Many of them are plastic, bottles, bottle caps, bags and other everyday objects that end up in the oceans.

Of the 7 billion tonnes of plastic waste generated worldwide to date, less than 10% has been recycled.

Faced with this pollution that is constantly increasing, the World Environment Day wants to raise awareness of this problem. This event, organized every year by the United Nations, encourages everyone to take action for the protection of the Earth, to adopt simple but effective gestures to limit the use of plastic.

This enthusiasm is also present on an international scale. In a few months, from 5 to 15 August 2025 in Geneva, there will be a gathering of countries around the world. The objective of this meeting is to continue negotiations for a global treaty on plastic pollution.

To go further

On the IPSL’s social media, find the episode “Science’s this? Science’s that?” dedicated to microplastics.

To learn more about air pollution, listen to the IPSL News podcast episode “The OLYMPUS model simulating air pollution” with Arthur Elessa, an environmental scientist and environmental physico-chemist at LISA-IPSL.